100 Years

Today was the celebratory service held at St. Stephen's Anglican Church to celebrate its one-hundredth anniversary. This is the small country church that my grandmother attended while she was still living. I can remember going with her occasionally when I was a little girl. I say occasionally because services are not held at St. Stephen's regularly. There is no heat or electricity and so services are held only in the summer, one or two Sundays a month. Last year the very first Christmas Eve service was held at St. Stephen's. We used propane heaters to warm the small church building. Today St. Stephen's was fuller than I have ever seen it. There were so many people that not everyone could fit inside. Many people stood outside while the service went on within. Regular services at St. Stephen's do not ussually bring out such a large crowd. After service everyone went to Merrill Community Centre (the one room school house that my dad attended as a boy that is now used for community events.) to share in a meal together and look over and remember the history of this small country church. It was neat to hear the stories and see the pictures. Another exciting event was the ringing of the new bell. The bell tower was not a part of the original church. I'm not sure exactly what year it was added to the building but there has never been a bell in it up until now. The week before the anniversary service the new bell was installed. They also had the stained glass window restored before the anniversary service. It was nice to be able to participate in this special event in the history of St. Stephen's.

My grandparent's headstone, in the graveyard of St. Stephen's